Integrated circuits are small electronic devices made out of a semiconductor material. Integrated circuits are sometimes called chips or microchips. An integrated circuit may function as an amplifier, oscillator, timer, counter, computer memory, or microprocessor. Moreover, integrated circuits may be categorized as linear, analog or digital depending on the intended application.
Integrated circuit power distribution systems deliver power to the various blocks or sub-circuits of the integrated circuit. It should be appreciated that these individual sub-circuits of the integrated circuit may have rail voltages that are different from the supply voltage of the integrated circuit itself. It is important that the rail voltages of the sub-circuits of the integrated circuit be stable so that the proper operation of the integrated circuit is maintained. Undesirable voltage fluctuations such as over-voltage or under-voltage events (e.g., glitches) can cause a malfunction of the integrated circuit, even if transitory.
Over-voltage and under-voltage events are voltage shifts that deviate from the rail voltage by a certain percentage. When the voltage that is supplied to a sub-circuit of the integrated circuit rises above the rail voltage by a certain percentage it is termed an over-voltage event. When the voltage that is supplied to a sub-circuit falls below the rail voltage by a certain percentage it is termed an under-voltage event. The occurrence of over-voltage and under-voltage events may be indicative of power distribution problems and may be a cause of an integrated circuit malfunctioning.
Ensuring proper power distribution to the individual circuit blocks of an integrated circuit core is problematic for many conventional integrated circuit power distribution networks. Many of these systems do not possess adequate systems for effectively assessing actual power distribution across the integrated circuit. Additionally, many times it is not clear if an integrated circuit is actually malfunctioning due to the various forms of glitches that can occur on the power rail or due to some other problem not related to the power distribution system. The lack of systems that accurately identify areas of an integrated circuit whose malfunctioning is caused by glitches on the power rail is a serious weakness of many conventional systems.